Antestor

Antestor
Thor Georg Buer and Lars Stokstad at Elements of Rock 2011
Background information
Also known as	Crush Evil
Origin	Jessheim, Norway
Genres	Unblack metal,death metal, doom metal (early)
Years active	1990–2007, 2010–present
Labels	Cacophonous, Endtime Productions, Bombworks,Rowe Productions
Associated acts	Vaakevandring, Grave Declaration
Website	antestor.no
Members	Ronny Hansen Lars Stokstad Erik Normann Aanonsen Henning Børven
Past members	Robert Bordevick Morten Sigmund Mageroy Nicholas Main Henriksen Thor Georg Buer Vegard Undal Tony Kirkemo Kjetil Molnes Svein Sander Erling Jorgensen Stig Rolfsen Paul W Ole Børud

Antestor (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈɑnʈɛstuːɽ]) is a Norwegian unblack metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim. Credited for starting the northern European Christian black metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Sigh, and Cradle of Filth. The band's only release on Cacophonous, The Return of the Black Death, proved influential for the Christian black metal movement, and has sold over 10,000 copies.

In the late 1990s they dubbed their musical style as "sorrow metal" rather than black metal because the black metal movement was publicly affiliated with Satanism in Norway. According to HM magazine, the progressive elements on the debut album, Martyrium, were possibly ahead of their time in the Norwegian extreme metal scene.

The group has gone through several line-up changes over the years, and currently Antestor consists of the founding guitarist Lars Stokstad (Vemod), vocalist Ronny Hansen (Vrede), bassist Erik Normann Aanonsen, guitarist Robert Bordevick, and drummer Henning Børven. The original vocalist Kjetil Molnes (Martyr) and drummer Svein Sander (Armoth) left the band around 2000, and the members of a fellow Norwegian black metal group, Vaakevandring, joined Antestor. The reputable Norwegian extreme metal drummer Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer) played session drums for their 2005 album The Forsaken and Det tapte liv EP. A fourth studio album, Omen, was released in 2013.